On Thursday, the Associated Press called the race in favor of former hedge-fund CEO Dave McCormick, who, in his second attempt at the U.S. Senate, challenged Democratic incumbent Bob Casey. Other news outlets such as NBC News, CNN, and the New York Times have yet to officially call the race. However, Casey, the three-term senator, has held off on conceding, citing the slim margin between him and McCormick as well as the number of outstanding ballots that have yet to be counted. Per the AP, Casey currently trails McCormick by 39,545 votes.
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The Casey campaign has pointed to a statement from Al Schmidt, the state’s secretary of State, who said Thursday that there are an estimated 100,000 ballots remaining to be processed. In addition to Election Day votes, the outstanding votes include provisional, military, and overseas ballots. In a Monday press release, the campaign noted that provisional ballots “broke overwhelmingly” for John Fetterman in 2022 at a larger margin than Casey currently needs to overtake McCormick. Fetterman would later go on to win his Senate seat over his Republican challenger Mehmet Oz.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Friday that the McCormick campaign had filed a lawsuit seeking to challenge tens of thousands of provisional ballots from Philadelphia, a traditionally blue city, as well as a request for a Republican observer for the processing of those ballots. The judge denied McCormick’s observer request, prompting his team to pull the other lawsuit which they could later refile, per WHYY.
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As the ballot counting enters a new week, Casey appears determined to hold out until the very last vote. “Our Commonwealth ran a free and fair election, and we are still waiting on the final results. Our election officials will continue counting ballots and ensure that Pennsylvanians’ voices are heard,” Casey said Monday.